Four decisions for England before third Ashes Test

England have already reached a point of no return in this Ashes series.

At 2-0 down after only six days of cricket across two Tests, England must win in Adelaide to revive any hope of lifting the urn for the first time since 2015.

The tourists are continuing to decompress on their break in Noosa and will return to training on Sunday.

A refresh of the bowling attack is almost a given.

For all the talk of England assembling their most hostile group of speedsters for an Ashes tour since 1970, the pace cartel has not fired. The excitement of a thrilling display on the first day of the first Test in Perth has dissipated.

To add to the disappointment, Mark Wood will soon be on the plane home.

If Wood had not been passed fit for the first Test, Josh Tongue would have been the most likely beneficiary and Tongue should enter the series in Adelaide.

Tongue can be scattergun – as evident during the fifth Test against India at The Oval – but he is also a very attacking bowler.

It is a small sample size, but of all England bowlers with at least 30 Test wickets, only three have a better strike-rate than Tongue’s 44.1. They are George Lohmann (last Test 1896), the great Sydney Barnes (1914) and Tongue’s current England team-mate Gus Atkinson.

Atkinson has endured a tough first two Tests. Wicketless in Perth, his series figures of 3-236 are boosted by two strikes when the Brisbane Test was as good as gone. A quiet character, he is among a number of England players who look to be struggling in the heat of an Ashes battle.

Brydon Carse was below his best at the Gabba, yet remains England’s leading wicket-taker. Jofra Archer is England’s spearhead and captain Ben Stokes must demand the fire and brimstone he produced at the end of the day-night Test.

From a likely move to an unlikely one, regarding a highly-concerning area of the England team.

Jamie Smith’s collapse in form has been astonishing. After his 12th Test, when Smith struck a spectacular 184 not out against India at Edgbaston, his batting average stood at 58.64.

There was excitement that England had uncovered the next Adam Gilchrist. Just lately, they might have been better off with Adam Sandler.

Smith’s highest score in his past eight Test innings is 33. He has failed to reach double figures on six occasions. He has looked lethargic behind the stumps, dropping a crucial catch and failing to move for another in Brisbane.

It is worth reflecting on a sliding-doors moment for England, a year ago in the nets in Queenstown, New Zealand, when Jordan Cox’s thumb was broken by a throw-down from assistant coach Jeetan Patel.

At that point, Cox was England’s reserve keeper and reserve batter. If it had gone well for him in New Zealand, there might have been a world where Cox took the gloves full time and Smith was freed to be a specialist batter.

Instead, Jacob Bethell took the opportunity to climb the pecking order. Cox’s versatility is now not in the England squad.

The indication is England will stick with Smith. Head coach Brendon McCullum hinted at it when he said the shorter square boundaries in Adelaide will suit Smith’s pull and hook shots.

Speaking of sliding-doors moments, there have been enough subplots to the England number-three position to fill a Tolkien novel.

It could be argued Pope might not still be England’s incumbent first drop had he not dislocated his shoulder after two Tests of the last Ashes, pulled off an all-time epic knock to win the first Test against India in 2024 or scored a hundred against Zimbabwe in May.

Despite seeming so high on Bethell after his breakout tour to New Zealand, England never pulled the trigger on a sustained promotion to the Test team.

As Bethell has hung around on the fringes, his career has stalled – he is still to score a first-class hundred. Meanwhile, Pope has been under constant pressure, not helped by having the vice-captaincy removed. The result is England know little more about either man than they did a year ago.

In fairness to Pope, he is England’s third-highest run-scorer in the series so far, though it is a low bar. In three of his four knocks he has made starts, he then found ways to get out.

Do England stick with him for the biggest match of the Bazball era? Do they finally make a decision that has felt inevitable for a very long time?

Will Jacks was the most surprising inclusion in England’s 16-man squad, seemingly chosen with the pink-ball Test in mind – lengthen the batting and bowl some off-breaks if required.

Before the Brisbane Test began, Ben Stokes said Shoaib Bashir remains England’s first-choice spinner. Stokes has also previously said Ben Foakes is the best wicketkeeper in the world.

Jacks is not a frontline Test spinner, yet he might have shown enough in Brisbane to suggest he is worth sticking with. He battled hard with the bat in the second innings and took a spectacular catch to remove Steve Smith.

The idea Jacks could bat in the top three is probably fanciful. If England axe Pope, the smarter move is to bring in Bethell. That leaves a choice between Jacks and Bashir.

Bashir has been hothoused in Test cricket with this tour in mind. Now there is the very real possibility England cannot pick him on it.

The most significant moment in Bashir’s England career to date was taking the wicket that won the thrilling third Test against India in July. He did so with the broken finger that kept him out for four months. Since returning, his combined figures in tour matches in Australia are 2-266.

Spin will almost certainly play a role in Adelaide. Australia can call on Nathan Lyon’s 562 Test wickets, while either of England’s options are both significant punts.